Saving her broken alpha

RISING

TAMLIN

'Hurt' was an understatement for what Tamlin was feeling. She was shattered. The rejection was so unexpected, and she couldn't stop wondering what she had done that was so terrible. She even found herself questioning why the goddess had made her a Beta.

After Helion left, she had barely wiped her tears before hurrying home. Once there, she headed straight for the comfort of her room and buried herself in the warmth of her bedsheets.

She tried hard to sleep, squeezing her eyes shut, but instead found herself thinking about Helion.

What could have been his reason for rejecting me? Is being a natural wolf tracer not enough to be a good Luna? If it wasn't enough, why did the goddess pair us in the first place?

Cases of rejection were very rare. Mates could go mad if care wasn't taken afterward. Was that going to be her fate?

"Lin, are you ok?" her brother's sharp knock came through the door.

His soft voice was enough to fill her eyes with fresh tears. She wanted to go to him and cry in his arms.

"Remember what Helion said?" Zina's voice cut through the despair, and her heart sank. She slumped back onto the bed.

Clearing her voice, she tried to sound normal. "I'm ok."

"I feel your pain, you know. What is the problem?" he insisted.

"I am ok, I promise," she replied.

Silence followed.

"Whatever the problem is, I'm here for you." When she didn't reply, he finally delivered his news. "The Silver nights pack members are here for you. Your application was received and your results are impressive, so you are going for the championship. Get ready, we're waiting for you downstairs. You have only fifteen minutes to pack."

This news was supposed to make her ecstatic, yet she felt utterly empty.

But she had to get ready. If she didn't, her parents would ask questions, and if they did, she might break. Kallias's future was on the line.

Scrambling off the bed, she headed for the closet. Grabbing the first things she saw, she went back downstairs.

"Is that all you are taking?" her mom wondered, knowing how much she loved dressing up. Shaking her head, Tamlin headed for the door.

"You still won't tell me what the problem is?" her mother asked, plunging them into silence.

"I am fine, Mama," she replied, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Her mother wasn't buying it. Staring at her dad with pleading eyes, Tamlin hugged her mom tightly.

"Don't worry, love. Whatever it is, when she is ready, we will no doubt hear what it's all about," her father said, coming to her rescue as he joined the hug, followed by Kallias. "Know that we love you, little one, and we will always be around." He kissed her forehead affectionately, and she nodded, her throat too tight for words.

Then her mother began praying to the goddess, and they all closed their eyes in a moment of quiet unity.

A series of howls outside announced that the omegas and her friends had come to say goodbye.

"Whatever it is, don't let it dampen your mood. You worked hard to be where you are today," her mother said as they finally released her.

"We wish you the best of luck!" they chimed, accompanying her to the waiting bus. Before she could climb in, her brother hugged her once again, his embrace tight and reassuring.

Picking up her travel bag, she joined the other participants. With a final wave to her family and friends, the bus pulled away.

She thought she caught her mate's scent on the air, but he was nowhere to be seen. Was the mate bond playing cruel tricks on her?

Maybe this journey wasn't a bad idea. She could finally leave the past behind.

She knew that without a formal rejection, she would still be tied to him somehow. But she knew her stance: she would stay as far away from him as possible. On this new journey, she would forget him.

Damn the mate bond. Damn fated mates. And damn Helion Rhysand.

She was going to enjoy herself, with or without her selfish mate.

---

Six Months Later

Tamlin couldn't believe how fast time had passed. Six months ago, she had become the Wolf Runners' Champion. Her family and almost half the pack had come to support her, including the Alpha and his mate.

To her greatest displeasure, Helion hadn't come. Her brother had simply said, "He's busy with the upcoming annual wolf celebration."

She had wanted him to see how far she had come without him. Unfortunately, the goddess had other plans.

"Are you sure it was just for that reason?" Zina had wondered.

What other reason could there be? She wasn't waiting for anything from him.

After becoming a champion, she was accepted into the prestigious Shapeshifters Academy in the Silvernight Pack. She planned to study the history of wolves for two years, then specialize for a year as a scent tracer. So far, everything was moving according to plan.

Except for one thing.

Her heat was becoming more and more painful. Heat was a type of pain a she-wolf endured after meeting her mate, continuing until they marked each other.

She had read many books searching for medication, but nothing helped. Her heats occurred constantly and were much more painful during the full moon.

Biting her lower lip against a sharp pang, she excused herself from the other trainees and headed for the bathroom.

"What if it isn't just the heat? What if it's something more?"

Yeah. She hadn't thought of that.

After collecting herself, she headed for the library. In the mate bond section, she chose three books: Encyclopedia of Mates' Diseases, Healing Heat During the Full Moon, and Other Diseases Related to Mates.

Glancing around to be sure no one had noticed her, she hurried back to her bedroom.

After a rapid shower, she dressed and chewed garlic to stop the frissons running down her body. She climbed into bed, her back against the headboard, and started reading.

She found nothing until she came across a shocking line:

"The heat of a she-wolf cannot occur more than once a month. If the she-wolf experiences heat more frequently, it can indicate the he-wolf is sexually involved with other she-wolves. And vice versa."

Her heart stopped.

She read the line five more times before she shut the book and sank into the sheets, her heart hammering. Her head began to pound. She wanted to cry, but no tears came. What could she do?

Opening her bedside drawer, she took a "Wolf's Sleeping Draught." She swallowed it with a gulp of water and lay down.

But in the silence and darkness, the questions haunted her:

Was he really with another female? What was she like? What did she have that Tamlin didn't? Most importantly, was it so easy for him to move on without her?

---